RETAILERS only responded to a third of public Twitter mentions citing a customer service request, and took more than 12 hours on average when they responded, according to DataEQ’s managing director Melanie Malherbe.
The South African Retail Sentiment Index, conducted by DataEQ with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) South Africa, which measures sentiment across pricing, customer service and product offering, found that sentiment around pricing (32%) and products (21.8%) was positive, but shoppers’ views on customer service (-68.4%) were mostly negative.
Having tracked more than 1.5 million public social media posts about Woolworths, Shoprite, Checkers, Spar, Pick n Pay, and Food Lover’s Market for the period January 1 to December 31 2022, the index addresses consumer sentiment, key performance analysis, and industry risks.
Customer service was by far the most prominent pain point…